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  Jury Awards $100 Million Verdict in Miami Priest Sex Abuse Case

By Brian Hamacher
NBC Miami
November 10, 2011

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Jury-Awards-100-Million-Verdict-in-Miami-Priest-Sex-Abuse-Case-133626668.html

A jury awarded a $100 million verdict to a sex abuse victim Thursday against a retired Miami priest who's already behind bars awaiting a criminal trial on sexual battery charges in what the plaintiff's attorney believes is the just the second verdict against a Catholic priest in the country.

Father Neil Doherty, 68, is the subject of numerous sex abuse lawsuits and is being held in Broward County Jail in a separate abuse case. He has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.

The verdict was handed down in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and is the first obtained against Doherty.

Attorney Jessica Arbour, who represents the plaintiff, said the case was filed earlier this year and is believed to be just the second verdict ever against a Roman Catholic priest in the country.

The victim, 40-year-old Andres Susane, spoke to the media during a news conference and said “justice was served.”

“What he did is unforgivable. He turned my life upside down,” Susane said.

Arbour's lawfirm, Herman, Meermelstein & Horowitz, has filed over 20 sex abuse lawsuits in cases involving Doherty.

 
 

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